Dave Riggert – Page 316 – St. Joseph Post Archive

Royals blow ninth inning lead, lose at Houston in 12 innings

Posted on April 9, 2017April 9, 2017

HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Astros blared Michael Jackson hits and were feeling celebratory vibes on Sunday after snapping a skid with another extra innings win.

Jake Marisnick hit a tying home run off Kelvin Herrera in the ninth inning and Evan Gattis drew a bases-loaded walk from Matt Strahm in the 12th, helping the Astros beat the Kansas City Royals 5-4 Sunday and stop a three-game losing streak.

It was Houston’s second walk-off win in five days following a 13th-inning three-run homer from George Springer in a 5-3 victory over Seattle on Wednesday.

“I love this team and I love our character, our grind,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. “We don’t work at all cylinders all the time, and I think we showed that this week and still came out with a winning homestand. Whatever words — grit and grind and character — the guys are into it.”

Brian McCann walked on 10 pitches, and Gattis took a high-and-inside, full-count pitch for ball four. Gattis said he had never ended a game with a walk before, but he credited Marisnick’s homer as the bigger swing in momentum for the team.

“The Marisnick home run was huge,” Gattis said. “It really breathed life back into us and it was good to get a win.”

Marisnick’s homer sneaked into the first row of the left field Crawford Boxes near the foul pole. He said he wasn’t sure it had enough to top the yellow line when he hit it.

“I honestly couldn’t see it,” Marisnick said. “I hit it right into the lights and I didn’t know where it went. I knew I hit it good with a little topspin. Luckily, I got enough of it.”

Springer hit his 12th leadoff homer in the first and third in seven games this season.

Brandon Moss homered against Chris Devenski (1-0) in the ninth to give the Royals a 4-3 lead.

Springer reached on an infield single leading off the 12th against Strahm (0-2), Alex Bregman sacrificed, Jose Altuve was intentionally walked and Carlos Correa hit into a forceout that advanced Springer to third.

Devenski struck out seven in four innings, allowing one run and three hits. Devenski became the second reliever in MLB history to start a season with consecutive outings of four or more innings with seven or more strikeouts, joining Liam Hendriks (2013).

“I’m going to run out of ways to describe Chris Devenski’s performances when he comes in like this,” Hinch said. “His pitch repertoire is perfect for these types of situations. He’s not going to go four innings and 60 pitches every outing, but he’s as valuable as any play that happened in the game today. Chris Devenski is exceptional.”

The Astros, who started 3-0 for the first time since 2001, moved back over .500 at 4-3.

Nathan Karns, making his first start and second appearance for the Royals, gave up one run and six hits in 5 2/3 innings. Karns was acquired in an offseason trade from Seattle for outfielder Jarrod Dyson.

“I thought he did a great job,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “First two innings were a little erratic, gritty, but he settled down in the third and pitched great from that point on.”

Astros starter Lance McCullers struck out 10 in seven innings, allowing three runs and six hits.

Salvador Perez tied it in the second when he became Kansas City’s first player to homer in four straight games since Billy Butler in 2011. The franchise record of five was set by Mike Sweeney in 2002.

Paulo Orlando avoided McCann’s tag to score on Raul Mondesi’s bunt in the fifth, and Mike Moustakas homered in the sixth for a 3-1 lead. Marwin Gonzalez’s two-run homer off Travis Wood tied the score 3-3 in the seventh.

SAVED BY THE NET

The Astros expanded the netting behind home plate this offseason to extend over the dugouts and improve fan safety. In the 12th inning, McCann swung and lost the handle of his bat, which flew right into the netting above the first base dugout.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Ian Kennedy (0-1) is to start Kansas City’s home opener against Oakland on Monday. Kennedy lost at Minnesota last week, allowing three runs, three hits and five walks in five innings.

Astros: RHP Charlie Morton (0-0) starts at Seattle after getting a no-decision at home against the Mariners, when he gave up two runs and five hits in six innings.

— Associated Press —

Bearcats complete three-game sweep of Missouri Southern

Posted on April 9, 2017

The Northwest Missouri State University baseball team beat Missouri Southern, 4-3, on Sunday at Bearcat Field in Maryville, Mo.

– The win gives the Bearcats a three-game sweep of the Lions after winning on Friday and Saturday.

– Northwest improves to 24-10 overall and 13-8 in MIAA play. Missouri Southern falls to 20-18 on the year and 12-11 in conference action.

– Kolby Greenslade went 3-for-3 at the plate, scoring two runs. He had a double and also stole a base.

Key Northwest Statistics
– Northwest scored one in the third, one in the fifth and two in the sixth. The Lions scored all three of their runs in the second.

– The Bearcats had four runs on nine hits with no errors. Missouri Southern had three runs on five hits with three errors.

– Garrett Fort was 2-for-4 with a pair of runs driven in. He also had a stolen base.

– Jay Hrdlicka was 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. He also drew a walk.

– Alixon Herrera went 1-for-4 with an RBI and a double.

– James Holler was 1-for-4 with a double

– Landon Figg went 1-for-4 with a run scored.

– Brad Roberts went 6.0 innings, allowing three runs on five hits. He struck out three and walked three. He set the Lions down in order in the third inning.

– Austin Battaglia shut down Missouri Southern in the seventh and eighth innings, not allowing a base runner. He had one strikeout while facing the minimum six batters.

– Nikko Pablo picked up his fifth save of the year, working a flawless ninth inning.

Key Northwest Innings
– The Bearcats got on the board in the third. Greenslade led off with a single to left. After a strikeout, he was able to steal second base. Fort game through with a single to right, driving in Greenslade from second to make it 3-1 Missouri Southern.

– Greenslade started the fifth with a double down the left field line and went to third on a groundout. Fort hit a chopper back up the middle that couldn’t be fielded cleanly, allowing him to reach first safely while driving in Greenslade to cut the Lion lead to 3-2.

– In the sixth, Figg hit a single to right and made a heads up play to advance to second after the right fielder misplayed the ball. After an out, Hrdlicka hit a single to right to score Figg to tie the game, 3-3. Hrdlicka was able advance to second on a throwing error by the right fielder and went to third on a wild pitch. Herrera hit a sinking line drive that got past the diving center fielder for a double to drive in Hrdlicka.

Up Next
– Northwest will head to Missouri Western on Tuesday, April 11. Please note the time change to a 7 p.m. game against the Griffons.

— Northwest Athletics —

St. Louis gets blanked in final game against Cincinnati

Posted on April 9, 2017

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Pitching well helps, Cincinnati starter Scott Feldman said. Getting a big lead makes a starter’s job even easier.

Feldman allowed four hits and struck out six in six innings, and the Cincinnati Reds beat St. Louis 8-0 Sunday to take two of three from the Cardinals.

“My command was much better this time (than opening day),” Feldman said. “It makes it a lot easier when the guys come out and put all those runs on the board. They swung the bats great today against a really good pitcher.”

Adam Duvall had three hits, including a home run, and two RBI for the Reds, who have won just five of their last 40 series at Busch Stadium.

All that past futility is just that — in the past, Cincinnati manager Bryan Price said.

“We’re just coming in here and playing baseball. We’re not playing the ghosts or demons of series past,” Price said. “We’re just coming in here and playing baseball. And we have a better team than we’ve had in the past, with a lot of new faces.”

St. Louis went 2-4 on its opening homestand and heads on a six-game trip to Washington and the New York Yankees.

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said his team needs to find some consistency.

“After coming off a good game yesterday, we were hopeful that it would be the key to spark a good long roll,” Matheny said. “We had trouble getting anything going today. We’ve got to keep searching for that really good rhythm.”

Feldman left after the Cardinals put their first two runners on in the seventh. Blake Wood and Tony Cingrani completed a six-hitter.

Carlos Martinez (0-1) gave up six runs, five earned, and six hits in five-plus innings. He hit two batters, walked one and threw a wild pitch.

Duvall homered in the second, the first run off Martinez this season after 8 1/3 scoreless innings.

“He’s got a good fastball,” Duvall said about Martinez. “I wanted to try and stay square on him and not try to over-pull the ball because then it opens up the outer half. And with Yadi (Molina) back there, and with the two of them going, it’s going to be a tough at-bat. I was able to get something to hit and put the barrel on it.”

Zack Cozart tripled in a run in the fifth, and the Reds chased Martinez in the sixth as the Cardinals made three errors, including two on one play by third baseman Jhonny Peralta.

“I’ve made three or four errors sometimes in a game before,” Peralta said. “It happens to everybody. Today, I made a really dumb play.”

Martinez hit Jose Peraza with a pitch, threw a wild pitch and walked Joey Votto. Duvall singled for a 3-0 lead and Peralta allowed Eugenio Suarez’s grounder to bounce off his glove, then threw the ball into right field for a double error as Votto scored.

Scott Schebler hit an RBI double off Brett Cecil, and a second run scored when right fielder Randal Grichuk fumbled the ball for an error as he tried to throw.

Votto homered leading off the ninth.

FIRST HIT

Cincinnati’s Stuart Turner doubled leading off the third for his first major league hit. The 25-year-old, who made his major league debut Thursday, is the first Reds catcher to skip Triple-A and make the opening day roster since Tucker Barnhart in 2014.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Reds: Kevin Mesoraco (right hip surgical recovery) was not to have a day off Sunday in his injury rehabilitation assignment at Double-A Pensacola, then catch nine innings Monday.

Cardinals: RF Stephen Piscotty sat out for the second consecutive game with a sore left knee, hurt when he was caught stealing Friday. He did not play Thursday as part of the concussion protocol. He was hit in the head by a throw while sliding home Tuesday against the Chicago Cubs.

UP NEXT

Reds: LHP Brandon Finnegan (1-0) was to start Monday against Pittsburgh and RHP Tyler Glasnow. Finnegan, who turned 24 Friday, became the first Reds starter to pitch seven shutout innings while allowing no more than one hit in his first start of the season since Jerry Arrigo in 1967.

Cardinals: RHP Adam Wainwright (0-1) was scheduled to start Monday at Washington, which goes with RHP Tanner Roark (1-0). Wainwright needs one win to pass Dizzy Dean (134) for sole possession of sixth place in franchise history.

— Associated Press —

Western women’s tennis loses final road match at Central Oklahoma

Posted on April 9, 2017

EDMOND, Okla. – The Missouri Western women’s tennis team fell 8-1 at Central Oklahoma Sunday. Missouri Western concludes its tough stretch of four matches in five days.

Karolina Strom claimed MWSU’s win at #2 singles. Strom dropped the first set but won the second set 6-3 and decisive third set 11-9. She also teamed up with Joanna Abreu Roman at #2 doubles; the duo dropped a tough match 9-7.

Missouri Western has its senior day and final home match on Wednesday, April 12 against Nebraska Wesleyan University. First serve is scheduled for 3 p.m. at the Noyes Tennis Center.

— MWSU Athletics —

Northwest tennis sweeps Missouri Valley at home on Sunday

Posted on April 9, 2017

The Northwest Missouri State University men’s tennis team swept Missouri Valley College, 9-0, on Sunday at the Frank Grube Tennis Courts in Maryville, Mo.

The No. 18 ranked Bearcat men improve to 13-3 overall while Missouri Valley falls to 8-4.

Romain Boissinot, Mauro Tete, Josef Altmann and Aymeric Autones all picked up singles and doubles points against the Vikings.

Men’s Scores
1. #39 Boissinot,Romain (NW) def. Benedetti,Stefano (MVC) 6-2, 6-1
2. Tete,Mauro (NW) def. Voelker,Benedikt (MVC) 6-2, 6-4
3. Altmann,Josef (NW) def. Pelushi,Rei (MVC) 6-1, 6-1
4. Autones,Aymeric (NW) def. Noya,Joel (MVC) 6-1, 6-0
5. Glowick,Fin (NW) def. Teal,Greg (MVC) 6-2, 6-0
6. Serrano,Jorge (NW) def. Castella,Marius (MVC) 6-2, 6-1

1. Tete,Mauro/Sherif,Youssef (NW) def. Alhamzawi,Abdul/Benedetti,Stefano (MVC) 8-3
2. Boissinot,Romain/Fontcuberta,Sergi (NW) def. Pelushi,Rei/Voelker,Benedikt (MVC) 8-3
3. Autones,Aymeric/Altmann,Josef (NW) def. Teal,Greg/Castella,Marius (MVC) 8-3

Up Next
The Bearcat men will host Emporia State on Thursday, April 13, at 1 p.m. in the MIAA regular season finale.

— Northwest Athletics —

Griffons lose to Central Oklahoma Saturday 4-1

Posted on April 8, 2017April 8, 2017

ST. JOSEPH – The Missouri Western baseball team (16-17, 13-10 MIAA) fell to Central Oklahoma (21-13-1, 11-12 MIAA) 4-1 Saturday at the Spring Sports Complex.

NOTABLES
– Missouri Western loaded the bases in the first inning with one out but was unable to produce a run

– Dusty Stroup connected for his fifth home run of the season during the first at-bat of the third inning

– MWSU threatened again in the bottom of the fifth inning as runners advanced to second and third on a passed ball but could not get across to score

– Defensively, the Griffons turned three double plays on the afternoon

– Central Oklahoma recorded 10 strikeouts in the game

TOP PERFORMERS
– Levi Schreiner was 2-for-3 at the plate with a walk

– Nate Hunter threw seven innings, his fourth straight start of six innings or more, as he gave up just two earned runs

– Stroup’s home run was his only run scored and RBI for the game

UP NEXT
Missouri Western tries to win the series against Central Oklahoma tomorrow, Sunday, April 9 at 1 p.m.

— MWSU Athletics —

Royals rally with six-run eighth inning to beat Astros 7-3

Posted on April 8, 2017

HOUSTON (AP) — Cheslor Cuthbert hit a solo homer early and Eric Hosmer and Salvador Perez both went deep during a six-run eighth inning, helping the Kansas City Royals rally for a 7-3 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night.

The Royals trailed 2-1 and managed just two hits off Dallas Keuchel before Luke Gregerson (0-1) took over for the eighth. Alex Gordon put Kansas City ahead with a two-run double, Lorenzo Cain hit an RBI single and then Hosmer’s first homer this season extended the lead to 6-2. Two pitches later, Perez sent an 88 mph fastball into the seats in left field to chase Gregerson.

Danny Duffy (1-0) allowed eight hits and two runs over seven innings for the win, and the Royals took their second straight from Houston after being swept in a three-game series at Minnesota to open the season.

The bullpen collapse ruined a solid start by Keuchel, the 2015 AL Cy Young Award winner. He has yielded just four hits and two runs over 14 innings in his first two starts after struggling last season.

Brian McCann gave Houston a 1-0 lead when he sent Duffy’s first pitch of the third inning into the right field stands.

The Astros had the bases loaded with one out in the fourth after a walk by Carlos Correa and singles by Carlos Beltran and Yuli Gurriel. Marwin Gonzalez’s single scored Correa to make it 2-0, but McCann grounded into a double play to limit the damage.

Keuchel had allowed just one hit when Cuthbert homered to left to start the fifth inning and cut Houston’s lead to 2-1.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Astros: Collin McHugh, who started the season on the 10-day disabled list after dealing with what he called “dead arm” this spring, will not throw for the next six weeks after injuring his pitching elbow during a rehab start on Thursday. McHugh pitched just one inning at Triple-A Fresno before feeling tightness leaving the game. There is no timetable for his return, but he will be re-evaluated after six weeks.

UP NEXT

Royals: Right-hander Nate Karns will make his first start and second appearance of the season in the finale on Sunday. Karns allowed four runs, two hits and two walks in a relief appearance in a 9-1 loss to Minnesota on Wednesday.

Astros: Right-hander Lance McCullers (1-0) is scheduled to make his second start on Sunday. McCullers yielded five hits and one run in six innings of a 2-1 win over Seattle on Tuesday.

— Associated Press —

Bearcats extend win streak to seven with victory over Southern

Posted on April 8, 2017

The Northwest Missouri State University baseball team picked up a 6-2 victory over Missouri Southern on Saturday at Bearcat Field in Maryville, Mo.

– Northwest improves to 23-10 overall and 12-8 in MIAA play. The Lions fall to 20-17 on the year and 12-11 in conference action.

– The Bearcats scored five runs in the eighth to help seal the game.

– Garrett Fort was 2-for-5 with a pair of RBIs and a run scored.

Key Northwest Statistics
– Northwest scored on in the fifth and five in the eighth. The Lions scored single runs in the sixth and seventh innings.

– The Bearcats had six runs on nine hits with one error. Missouri Southern had two runs on six hits with no errors.

– Ozzie Adams went 1-for-5 with two RBIs, a run scored and a stolen base.

– Landon Figg walked three times in the game, going 1-for-2. He scored a run and stole a base.

– James Holler was 1-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. He was also hit by a pitch.

– Luke Hassman was 1-for-4 and was hit by a pitch.

– Luke Wilkinson went 1-for-3.

– Kolby Greenslade went 1-for-3 with a walk.

– Logan Rycraft scored a run and drew a walk.

– Joseph Hietpas started and retired the first 11 Missouri Southern batters he faced. He went 6.0 innings, allowing just one earned run. He struck out five and walked one.

– Jacob Wagner worked the seventh inning after relieving Hietpas. He allowed just one walk.

– Austin Battaglia allowed just one walk, working a hitless eighth inning.

– Nikko Pablo came in for the ninth inning. He struck out two and allowed one hit.

Key Northwest Innings
– In the fifth, Figg drew a one-out walk and Hassman hit a single through the left side to put two runners on. Holler delivered an RBI single to right to drive in the game’s first run.

– Holler led off the eighth by getting hit by a pitch. Hrdlicka laid down a bunt that came to rest on home plate for a single, putting runners on first and second with no outs. Kevin Handzlik pinch hit and got a sacrifice bunt to move the runners to second and third. Joseph Curtis was called upon to pinch run for Hrdlicka at second base. After a groundout that kept the runners from advancing, Rycraft drew a walk to load the bases. Fort came up big for a second-straight day as he delivered a two-RBI single to center, scoring Holler and Curtis. Adams followed it up with a single to left driving in Rycraft and Fort. Figg kept the streak going with a single to right, moving Adams to third. After a pitching change, the Bearcats executed a double steal, allowing Adams to score from third to make it 6-2.

Up Next
– The final game of the series will start at 3 p.m. on Sunday.

— Northwest Athletics —

MWSU softball drops two games at Pittsburg State

Posted on April 8, 2017

PITTSBURG, Kan. – The Missouri Western softball team (26-12, 6-6) dropped both games of a doubleheader at Pittsburg State (34-12, 13-5) on Saturday.

Missouri Western was bested in run-rule shortened games of 12-3 and 8-0, going 0-4 on the weekend road trip after two losses at Missouri Southern on Friday.

Pittsburg State blew a 3-3 game wide open with three home runs in the fifth of game one, including back-to-back shots from Kala Holder and Nicole Nease. A three-run home run by Nease in the sixth ended the game. The Gorillas hit five home runs in the game. Missouri Western stranded seven base runners in game one.

It was a seven-run fourth inning by Pittsburg State that put game two out of reach. Pitt State scored five of the runs in the inning with two outs. Emmie Robertson limited the Griffons to just two hits in game two after picking up the win in relief of game one.

Paige Shifflett went 3-for-3 in game one and walked twice in game two, not recording an official at bat. Riley Wilson was 2-for-4 on the day with a run scored.

The Griffons will look to snap the four-game skid this Tuesday, March 11 when they host Northwest Missouri State (19-13, 10-4).

— MWSU Athletics —

Missouri downs Georgia 6-1 at SunTrust Park

Posted on April 8, 2017April 8, 2017

ATLANTA, Ga. – The Mizzou Baseball team closed out a conference road series win in big fashion Saturday with a 6-1 win over Georgia playing at the brand new SunTrust Park, home of the Atlanta Braves. The Tigers got a career pitching performance from junior RHP Bryce Montes De Oca (Lawrence, Kan.), who went a career-high 6.0 innings and allowed only two hits and one run as MU improved to 23-9 overall and 6-6 in Southeastern Conference play while the Bulldogs fell to 14-19 and 4-8. Montes De Oca struck out six Georgia batters on the day, and improved to 3-1 on the season, with the only run scoring on a second-inning sacrifice fly. Freshman LHP T.J. Sikkema earned his fourth save of the season by throwing three scoreless innings in relief, allowing just two hits and striking out three.

Montes De Oca was supported by an eight-hit attack from the Tiger offense as Mizzou scored three runs in the fourth inning and three more in the eighth to pull away in front of 33,025 fans, which marked the second-largest crowd to ever see a college baseball game.

Junior RF Trey Harris (Powder Springs, Ga.) continued his torrid weekend pace as he blasted a three-run home run into the left field bullpen with no outs in the top of the fourth inning to stake the Tigers to a 3-1 lead. Harris’ blast traveled some 375 feet and came after senior DH Kirby McGuire (Round Rock, Texas) and freshman LF Kameron Misner (Poplar Bluff, Mo.) started the inning with back-to-back walks off UGA starting pitcher Chase Adkins.

Mizzou got some big insurance in the top of the eighth to take a 6-1 lead with a three-run outburst, thanks to a two-run double by junior 3B Alex Samples (Bridgeport, Texas) and a one-run single by sophomore 1B Brian Sharp (Liberty, Mo.). Sharp’s single came first on a one-out safety to right that drove in Harris, who drew a four-pitch walk two hitters prior. Samples came up next and promptly two-hopped the left center field fence to score junior C Brett Bond (St. Louis, Mo.) and Sharp. Bond reached with a single after Harris’ base on balls.

Harris’ fourth-inning home run goes down as the first collegiate home run in SunTrust history, and was the second homer of the series for the Georgia native, after his two-run shot to right center at Foley Field in Athens in Mizzou’s 8-5 win Friday evening. The round-tripper was Harris’ sixth of the season and the third this week, and it improved him to 5-of-10 with two home runs and five runs batted in the series against Georgia. The Bulldogs had taken a 1-0 lead in their half of the second on a sacrifice fly off Montes De Oca. Harris also had an important hand in keeping the Bulldogs to just one run in the second, as he made a headlong diving catch that ended the inning on a sinking line drive with a runner on second base.

Montes De Oca worked out of a two-out jam in the Bulldog fourth after issuing a one-out walk and allowing a two-out single, but he recovered to induce an inning-ending fielder’s choice groundout to keep the Tigers on top by a 3-1 count.

Senior DH Kirby McGuire (Round Rock, Texas) had a pair of hits, and added a walk, a stolen base and a run in support of the Tiger pitchers, while Sharp went 2-for-3 with a run, an RBI and a walk.

The Tigers next return home for a six-game homestand, beginning Tuesday, April 11 vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 6:30 p.m. at Taylor Stadium/Simmons Field.

— Mizzou Athletics —